OUTSOURCED SERVICES SCRUTINY PANEL. 9 July 2018

Transcription

1 OUTSOURCED SERVICES SCRUTINY PANEL 9 July 2018 Present: Councillor S Cavinder (Chair) Councillors J Dhindsa (for minute number 4), A Grimston, K Hastrick, R Martins and B Mauthoor Also present: Councillor Tim Williams (Portfolio Holder) Officers: Head of Community and Environmental Services Head of Corporate Strategy and Communications Leisure and Environmental Services Section Head Corporate Procurement Manager Committee and Scrutiny Support Officer (JK) 1 Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Saffery. There was a change of membership for this meeting: Councillor Grimston replaced Councillor Hofman. 2 Disclosures of interest 3 Minutes There were no disclosures of interest. The minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2018 were submitted and signed. 4 Contract management overview The panel received presentations from the Corporate Procurement Manager and the Head of Community and Environmental Services. The presentation from the Corporate Procurement Manager was included in the agenda and covered the following areas: An overview of the council s approach to procurement Governance 1

2 Details of the procurement process Monitoring performance and compliance The emphasis on social value in the procurement process Following questions about the Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) when the parking service was delivered by a new provider; officers clarified that when staff moved from one external provider to another the council was not directly involved in the TUPE process. Further information about the consultation process in this instance would be provided to the panel. Discussing prioritising contracts with local companies, officers explained that the council could not legally discriminate by the location of a business. However, the council included social value as part of the tender process and this could have a positive impact on the scoring for local businesses. In addition, the council would not want local businesses to miss out on work in other areas due to their location. Officers explained that the contract register, which recorded all the council's contracts over 5000, was publicly available on the website. In addition, the procurement pipeline contained details of forthcoming tenders which could be publicised to local businesses. Outreach work was undertaken with local groups such as the Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness of the opportunities for working with the council. Officers were always happy to speak to local businesses. Following a question about the equalities duties of external providers, it was confirmed that they had to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and an equalities questionnaire was completed with each tender. The panel then received a presentation from the Head of Community and Environmental Services which briefed members on the following: Details of the contract renewal dates and the contract managers Governance arrangements for each of the major contracts overseen by Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel (OSSP) The partnership approach taken by the council working with the contractors How OSSP can add value to the ongoing contract management The presentation is appended to these minutes. It was noted by the panel that the parking enforcement service was within their remit and was managed by officers in Place Shaping and Corporate Performance. 2

3 Members asked for further information about the nature of the agreement with CitiParks and how this could be scrutinised. Considering the market, members asked about the vacancy levels and asked for further information about how many units were used for storage. Officers provided examples of how the council was able to influence the contracts; for example the contract with Veolia stipulated that employees would be paid the London Living Wage. In addition, the council was informally involved in the selection of the new contract manager. The panel then discussed the role of trade unions in relation to the contractors employees. Further details were agreed to be provided about information given to the staff. Members expressed their continuing interest in being involved in procurement and re-procurement processes. It was emphasised that the ongoing monitoring of the contracts at OSSP was valuable for officers drawing up specifications. There had previously been a task group to determine priorities for the latest leisure contract. In addition, Cabinet decisions to award contracts could be called in. This was also a political matter for the majority group. Discussing the opportunities for community use at the Colosseum, it was noted that the community rate was 50% of the commercial rate. Some events may be better suited to take place at the community centres. The Chair thanked the officers for useful and interesting presentations. It was important to understand how OSSP could add value this year and be a critical friend. RESOLVED 1. that the presentation and the panel s comments be noted. 2. that the actions agreed be undertaken. 5 End of year 2017/18: key performance indicator (KPI) report The panel received a report of the Head of Corporate Strategy and Communications. The report provided the results for the key performance indicators identified for Watford Borough Council s outsourced services for 2017/18. 3

4 In response to feedback, the format of the report had been amended to provide a dashboard style presentation. This highlighted areas of underperformance and other key headlines. It was noted that some indicators would plateau as they reached optimum performance. Reasons for any underperformance were set out in the report. The explanations for the indicators which were underperforming were provided to the panel. The panel provided feedback on the format of the report and the officer agreed to consider how to further refine the presentation of the data. The panel noted that paragraph 4.3 of the report should read 2 were on target. The panel discussed indicator 10, levels of detritus, and information was provided about the tenders that were out to replace the fleet of mechanical sweepers. Turning their attention to indicator 12, flyposting, members were interested to know how the increases in incidents in St Albans Road were being addressed. These were reported by the streetcare crews. Officers agreed to clarify whether the council had any powers in relation to properties it did not own. The council had a zero-tolerance approach to fly-posting. Staff satisfaction was slightly below target; the officers provided details of the programme of initiatives designed to promote staff motivation. The latest results would be available shortly. It was noted that the level of staff sickness absence level had improved and the measures in place were outlined, including the First Care service. Discussing the ICT service levels (indicator 35), the officers agreed to clarify whether the review would impact the target level. A request was made that where any KPI target had been lowered for Q1 in 2018/19 that an explanation be provided. RESOLVED 1. that the key performance indicator results for the end of year 2017/18 be noted. 2. that the panel s feedback on the report format be noted. 3. that the actions requested be undertaken. 4

5 6 Work programme The panel received a report of the Committee and Scrutiny Support Officer introducing the draft work programme. A number of gaps had been left to ensure that the panel could suggest ideas for meetings and to ensure there was capacity to deal with emerging issues throughout the year. The panel was encouraged to focus on specific issues with key questions for scrutiny rather than contracts as a whole. Annual reports from the contractors could be circulated by to the panel. Veolia was being asked to attend in September to discuss the issues with grounds maintenance this summer. It was agreed that the possibility of the panel visiting the depot should be explored. Members agreed that they were interested to explore the social value aspects of various contracts throughout the year. This would be added to the parks item in September. They were also interested in inviting Watford Community Housing to discuss the management of the hostels and temporary accommodation in November. SLM and HQ Theatres would be invited later in the municipal year to specifically discuss the community and social aspects of their contracts. The new parking contract would be considered in March RESOLVED 1. that the draft work programme be agreed. 2. that the actions requested be undertaken. 7 Conclusions and recommendations This had been covered in the previous items. The Meeting started at 7.00 pm and finished at 8.45 pm Chair 5

6 Watford Borough Council Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel Minute Item 4 Page 6 Monday 9 July pm

7 Watford Borough Council s Contract Management Arrangements Page 7 Alan Gough Head of Community & Environmental Services AND Chair of WBC Contract & Relationship Management Forum

8 Page 8 The contracts OSSP scrutinises (from ToR): Waste, Recycling, Street Care, Parks and Open Spaces (Veolia) Leisure centres (SLM/Everyone Active) Watford Colosseum (HQ Theatres) Watford Market (as of ) (Town and Country Markets - TCM) Portfolio Holder for all the above is Cllr Tim Williams Management of Hostels and Temporary Accommodation The Parking Service The Shared Services under the agreement with Three Rivers District Council

9 Contract Renewal dates Page 9 Waste, Recycling, StreetCare, Parks and Open Spaces Leisure centres Watford Colosseum (HQ Theatres) 2021 Watford Market (TCM)

10 Governance Page 10 Veolia: Strategic Partnership Board 2 x per year Quarterly PI s LT, PHs, OSSP Monthly Portfolio Holder Meetings Monthly Performance / Operational Meetings Monthly Finance Meetings Weekly Performance Reports Daily conversations

11 Governance Page 11 SLM/Everyone Active: Strategic Partnership Board 2 x per year Annual year end report to LT, PHs and OSSP Quarterly PI s LT, PHs, OSSP Quarterly Finance Meeting Monthly Performance / Operational Meetings Daily conversations

12 Governance Page 12 HQ Theatres: Quarterly PI s LT, PHs, OSSP Quarterly Finance Meeting Annual year end report to LT, PHs and OSSP Monthly Performance / Operational Meetings Daily conversations

13 Page 13 Governance Town and Country Markets (TCM): Quarterly Finance Meeting Quarterly Performance / Operational Meetings Daily conversations

14 Partnership Approach Page 14 WBC and Partners delivering for the Town Shared goals and service delivery standards Both work together to resolve any issues Financial penalties are collected for performance issues (such as missed bins)

15 The Added Value of OSSP Page 15 In touch with local residents who receive / use the services Mystery Shopping - customer service Mystery Shopping communications, including promotion of new / seasonal initiatives Positive Pressure in scrutiny of Quarterly PI s

16 QUESTIONS? Page 16